In the fourth election, Fujisaki Keiko finally won.
0.27%, 40 thousand votes gap, this is Peru's closest election in recent years.
Tendairo Kiyoko's shift in attitude, relying on overseas votes to turn the situation around, clearly shows her pro-US stance. This makes people wonder about the situation involving Chinese investments in Peru. After all, the US ambassador to Peru was even hyping up the "China threat theory" before the election.
But it’s worth noting that Fujimori Keiko was able to get onto the stage mainly because she had two strategies: “using order to attract investment” and “using the market to drive the economy”. However, the latter strategy “would not work well if she were to operate outside of China”.
China Institute of International Relations researcher Wang Youming told Observer Network on July 2 that China has an irreplaceable position in the global market for Peru. Although Peru is one of the countries in Latin America that have recently shifted to the right, they are moving towards the United States, but they also seek political and economic 'double protection'. No matter which party is in power in Latin American countries, they cannot do without a large market, significant investment, and numerous buyers like China.
In 1975, Yoshiko Fujimori was born into a Japanese immigrant family in Lima, Peru. Her father, Alvezio Fujimori, who later became the president of Peru of Japanese descent, was originally a professor at a agricultural university.
In 1994, Fujisaki Keiko’s parents had a marital breakdown. Her mother, Susanna Hikoguchi, publicly accused her husband of corruption. In a fit of anger, Fujisaki Keiko became the youngest “First Lady” in Latin American history at the age of 19. This experience of studying in the United States and managing politics under her father shaped Fujisaki Keiko’s political background.
Many years later, when Fujimori Keiko participated in the election in Peru for the fourth time, she managed to win with a very narrow margin of over 40,000 votes, despite having fewer ballots within the country compared to her opponent Sánchez. She received overwhelming support from overseas voters, especially from the United States and Japan.
Wang Youming pointed out that, based on Peru's right-wing government's past foreign policy and Fujimori Koiko's previous campaign proposals, she will adjust the former government's diplomacy aimed at maintaining balance among major powers and a diversified foreign policy. She will instead move closer to the United States and strengthen relations with Japan. This should be the main direction of her policy changes.
In this election in Peru, although U.S. President Donald Trump did not speak out immediately, U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro was busy everywhere. He met with officials at all levels, spread the theory of China's threat, and his anti-China stance was very clear.
In February of this year, as soon as he took office, he posted on the X platform saying, "Everything has a cost. In the long run, cheap things come at high prices. There is no greater cost than losing sovereignty." He also posted a photo of himself eating a cheese burger with then-President José María Balmaceda of Peru, calling it a "menu change".
In April, during the elections in Peru, he once again took advantage of the delayed procurement of American F-16 fighter jets in Peru to create trouble. He maliciously compared China to the "big wolf" from the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood," deliberately denigrating the pragmatic cooperation between China and countries like Peru and other Latin American nations.
Under this naked malice, it is natural for the outside world to be worried. Will Fujisaki Keiko, who advocates deepening cooperation with the United States, use Chinese-funded projects as a means to achieve her goals? Who will be the first to bear the brunt of this situation? Qian Kaigang?
There have always been voices in the public opinion suggesting that Fujisaki Keiko might take the opportunity to use American and Japanese capital to upgrade the port of Kayaloy. This old port is located 60 kilometers from the Qiankai Port, and there is a U.S. naval base nearby.
Wang Youming believes that although the possibility of 'ports vs. ports' in the future cannot be completely ruled out, this will not affect Peru's high regard for Qiankai Port. 'Since Qiankai Port has been operating for over a year, its benefits have benefited both China and Peru, with Peru particularly reaping tangible benefits, providing over 8,000 job opportunities. Qiankai Port has increasingly become an important port hub in South America. Moreover, Peruvian media reports indicate that Qiankai Port is undergoing expansion, with infrastructure surrounding it being expanded, and neighboring countries are also competing to build railways and roads to connect to Qiankai Port.'
Data also proves this point.
According to data from Peru's customs, in the first nine months of 2025, Qiankai Port had an export trade value of $603 million, and an import trade value of $984 million. The cumulative tax revenue generated amounted to approximately 697 million Peruvian soles.
Throughout 2025, Qiankai Port will have a total container throughput of 336,200 TEUs, and the cumulative operations for bulk goods and roll-on/roll-off ships will reach 1.5956 million tons.
February 23, 2026, in Qiankai, Peru. The ship is sailing on the water before the Chinese-built Qiankai Super Port operated by COSCO Shipping. IC Photo
"Peruvian blueberries and avocados from their place of origin to Shanghai dinner tables, now only takes 31 days, down 13 days from before; Chinese new energy cars transported to the capital city of Lima, Peru, took just 30 days, with a flight route reduction of 7 days." By Qian Kai, vice-general manager of the Zhongyuan Port in Peru, said to People's Daily: "The efficient operation of Qian Kai Port ensures the continuous flow of routes between Asia and Latin America, contributing to the stability and smooth flow of global supply chains.”
China has an irreplaceable position in the global market for Peru.
China is Peru's largest trading partner, the largest export market, and the largest source of imports in the world. Peru is the first Latin American country to sign a package of free trade agreements with China, and one of the earliest Latin American countries to join the initiative of building a 'Belt and Road' together. In 2024, the two countries also signed an upgraded protocol to their free trade agreement.
Wang Youming said that Peru's economic structure determines that it cannot change the general direction of its relations with China. Economic and trade relations will only move forward, not backward. 'Peru has a relatively single economic structure, mainly relying on the export of agricultural and mineral products to drive economic growth. In other words, the best export market for Peru's pillar industries is China.'
Speaking of Fujimori Keiko, she brought two cards onto the stage: one titled “Using Order to Drive Investment” and the other titled “Using the Market to Drive the Economy”. “For economic growth, she couldn’t bring these cards without China.”
Fujisaki Keiko has stated that one of the most important policies after taking office would be to strengthen infrastructure construction. China has advantages in this regard due to its technical expertise and management costs, and it is impossible to do without China's support.
For example, to revitalize tourism resources, a Chinese company built the longest and widest bi-directional single-lane highway tunnel in Peru. It is also the first highway tunnel project in Peru that leads to the ruins of the Inca city of Machu Picchu.
Developing green energy, Chinese companies have participated in the Saint-Gallon No. 3 hydropower station project.
Post-disaster reconstruction: Chinese companies built a new school covering an area of about 4,500 square meters for schools destroyed by floods. The new school includes classrooms, libraries, computer rooms, and basketball courts.
The picture shows on February 11, 2025, Peru's then-president Boro Alte ( fifth from the right in the front row) taking a photo with representatives of teachers and students from the affected schools inside the rebuilt campus. People's Daily
"I conducted research in Peru and found that although Peru has abundant mineral resources, the infrastructure from mining areas to ports needs immediate improvement. Fujimoto Keiko also mentioned that future governance efforts should focus on infrastructure development. This presents an opportunity for Chinese companies specialized in infrastructure projects." Wang Youming believes that both from the scale of the Chinese market and the importance of investment, as well as the important plans outlined by Fujimoto Keiko, it is clear how indispensable China is. It is worth mentioning that China's leading position in the digital economy and green economy is attracting attention and interest in Peru.
In fact, since last year, countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Chile, Costa Rica, and Colombia have held significant elections, resulting in a trend of right-wing gains and left-wing losses. While there is a “pendulum effect” in world politics, this phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Latin America, and it is accelerating. Some Latin American governments have only been in power for one term, yet their leadership has already changed between the right and the left.
But Wang Youming said, "Looking at the positions and actions of countries in Latin America that have already turned right and those that are turning right now, although they are moving closer to the United States, they also want to have 'double insurance'. In terms of political security, they need American protection. In terms of economic markets, they also need Chinese protection. Therefore, after right-wing governments take power, everything should develop smoothly after a period of adjustment."
Currently, a very small number of countries in the right direction are under pressure from the United States and are making actions that harm others rather than themselves. For example, Panama has forcibly taken over Chinese companies’ port operations. Wang Youming believes that, overall, cooperation between China and Latin America has been mutually beneficial over the past few decades, achieving a win-win situation. “In particular, Latin America has benefited greatly from China’s ‘economic express train.’ Whether it’s infrastructure development, job creation for the population, or the growth of a country’s GDP, all these factors have played a significant role in promoting development. China’s ability to grow stronger in Latin America is not without reason. The mutual cooperation between the two sides meets the economic and social needs of Latin America as well as its people. Therefore, no matter from which perspective, the general direction of cooperation between China and Latin America will not change.”
Let's turn back to another card by Fujisaki Keiko: "Driving Investment with Order".
Peru has had 9 presidents in 10 years, and 3 of them were impeachmentned by Congress. The root cause of chaos lies in the actions carried out by her father.
In 1992, Fujimori, with military support, carried out a “self-coup,” dissolving the parliament and suspending the constitution. In 1993, the new constitution simply changed the bicameral system to a unicameral one. Ironically, this action also affected Fujimori himself. In 2000, due to corruption scandals, he announced his resignation during his visit to Japan. The Peruvian parliament then removed him from office on the grounds of “permanent moral incapacity” and prohibited him from holding any public positions for ten years.
Although Fujisaki Keiko failed in the first three major elections, the right-wing faction she led and her allies maintained an advantage in Congress. They used the impeachment power multiple times to push the government towards collapse.
For example, when Borealt took over as president at the end of 2022, Fujimori Keiko first expressed her support, and also made a meaningful statement that the new government should “respect democratic institutions, separation of powers, and national development”. This implied that Peruvian politics was moving towards a situation where smaller parties became more prominent. However, during Borealt’s tenure, she failed to receive sufficient political recognition. When she found herself in a situation where profits were made illegally and public security continued to deteriorate, Fujimori Keiko joined forces with left-wing parties to impeach this first female president of Peru from office.
However, Fujimori Keiko left herself a backup plan this time. She pushed through the establishment of a bicameral system. “For impeachment of the president, a bicameral system is not as easy as a single-chamber system. If we are optimistic, if Fujimori Keiko does not have any sudden scandals or major governance mistakes, Peru will experience a period of relative political stability,” said Wang Youming.
On June 4, 2026, local time, in Lima, Peru, Yoshiko Fujimoto held a closing event for her campaign. Eastern IC
But no single political party has achieved an absolute majority in the new parliament. The negotiations between the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as between the president and the parliament, are likely to be more costly. This is a major test of Fujimori Keiko’s coordination skills. Galletti, the secretary-general of the People’s Power Party, has stated that the new cabinet will prioritize “capability” and does not rule out appointing left-wing figures and technocrats to government positions, aiming to create a cross-party coalition.
Political instability exists, and Peru's security situation is also unstable.
In 2025, Peru experienced 2,451 murders throughout the year, with over 27,000 reports of extortion. The economic losses caused by various types of crimes accounted for 3.1% of the country's GDP. The latest annual report on urban and family safety, Verisure’s "Safety Barometer," shows that approximately 49% of Peruvians believe that local shops are highly vulnerable to crime, while this proportion rises to 53% in Lima, the capital of Peru. The most common crime is shop theft, which accounts for 65% of all safety alarms. As a result, businesses are forced to close or reduce their operations.
Local Chinese people suggest that Chinese tourists should preferably travel in groups during the day, and it is best not to go out after dark.
In 2025, the average unemployment rate is 5.9%, which seems acceptable. However, the youth unemployment rate is high. Many young people who have neither jobs nor schools are taken in by gangs at low prices, creating a vicious cycle. What's more distressing is that Peru's GDP growth rate has been above 3% in the past two years, but most of the money goes into the pockets of mining owners and farmers. Ordinary people don't benefit from this: in 2024, the poverty rate rose to 27.6%, with over 30% of the population facing food insecurity. Coupled with the severe impact of the El Niño phenomenon, life becomes even more difficult.
Fujisawa Keiko's appearance on stage addressed these key issues. While advocating for preventive measures against the El Niño phenomenon and using strong measures to combat crime, as well as promoting youth employment, she also revised the mining law to regulate mining activities, attract private investment, and support small and medium-sized enterprises. Her commitment to a market-oriented and investment-focused approach, particularly in times of economic downturn, declining public safety, and low political trust, helped her attract the "elite Peruvians" from coastal cities like Lima, which contributed to her election success.
On July 28th, Fujisaki Keiko will take the oath of office. She faces numerous challenges: diplomatically, she needs to align herself with the US and Japan, but how to maintain China as a key economic partner? Politically, she must manage a fragmented parliament through negotiations rather than confrontation. Economically, she must ensure economic growth while allowing more people to benefit. In terms of public security, she must fulfill her promises to reduce street crime. In Peru, where there is deep division among different social classes, and where there is mutual hostility between the left and the right, and a lack of trust between the government and its opposition, will she be able to bridge these divides rather than repeat the fate of her family? How she plays her two cards will truly be the key to solving these complex issues.
